Back to Zero
by Watashi wa Ame desu
Summary: They had just won the Great Fourth Shinobi War, saving everyone from the dream that no one could escape once captured. And, after spending their own blood and sweat they were sent back in time where a war was still raging on. Fate has bad humour and Naruto wanted to scream at whoever brought them back in time to fight again. I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: Hi, there. How nice of you to read this. Well, if you have read New Dawn, you'll find the first part as the same. This story, Back to Zero, is actually my first Naruto fan fiction, however, being the careless I am I accidentally deleted the original of this, so I re-wrote it. It wasn't the same except the first part, but I assure you that this is better than its former before I accidentally deleted it. I hope you guys will enjoy the story and I'm looking forward for your reviews. Let me know what's running in your minds while reading. It will be appreciated.**

* * *

**I**

* * *

The Fourth Great Shinobi War, unbeknownst to majority, had started roughly two decades ago in the shadows, and now like an erupting volcano it ensued.

The Five Great Nation fought as one against their sole enemy, Uchiha Madara, who manipulated the hearts of people to fulfil his goal of eternal dream where everyone won't feel hunger, hate, sadness, but happiness; the Tsukuyomi. One might have asked if it was not because of this war; will the Great Five Nations come to an alliance? Possible, but it would take time, however, there was this lone man who would and will even if it takes longer than he thought.

The Fourth Great Shinobi War that cost so many lives of both innocent and not had been gone too long and every single soul were growing tired by the time. They wanted to rest already, but they could not and will not. They have to fight until their very last breath in the hopes of saving the world from the dream no one could escape. They have to protect the kings.

It had been so long, but they knew the war was coming to its end.

They knew it in their hearts.

Uchiha Madara fell from above and crashed down the earth, creating a huge crater. Uchiha Sasuke had managed to dispell the Moon's Eye by countering it using both his Sharingan and Rinnegan, however it took a lot of him and now was lying on his back with Haruno Sakura healing him while Hatake Kakashi was beside them, guarding. The Five Kages took the chance to regroup to a safer place and heal the injured ones while Uzumaki Naruto was engaged in a taijutsu fight with Madara.

Madara was weakening after the failure of his project because of Sasuke. He needed to recharge, but was not able to as Naruto appeared out of thin air right before him and just an inch away, which took him in surprise. Using the opening, Naruto plucked out both his eyes without haste and crushed it before going after the third one that was on his forehead.

Everything happened in a fast paced; the fight of Sasuke and Naruto against Madara was one of the greatest, or perhaps the greatest fight of the greatest and will become a legend that will never die.

Standing before the prone figure of Madara were Naruto and Sasuke, looming over him and watching him intently. Sakura and Kakasi approached them and stood at either sides of Sasuke and Naruto. Black Zetsu, who was still stuck in Obito's body, stood from afar, recording everything like he was supposed to.

"He's still alive. Barely." said Sasuke, earning a bewildered look from Kakashi and Sakura.

"W-what do you mean...he's still alive?" asked Sakura.

"He's alive, though only barely." Naruto replied for Sasuke. "He has the Shodai's cells that keep him alive. We can't kill him."

"Why?" asked Kakashi.

"Because..." Naruto scrunched up his face, thinking before resigning. Nudging the Uchiha, he said, "Hey, Sasuke. You explain it."

"You're hopeless." Sasuke sighed.

"Shut up!"

Sakura hid a chuckled behind her hand as she saw them bickering over a small thing just like before. She missed it; the days they had together before as a team.

"Calm down Naruto." Kakashi held his hand, placating. He then turned to Sasuke and motioned for him to explain.

"Hn. It's simple. We don't have enough to keep him dead because there's a possibility of him recovering while killing him by sucking our chakras through a slight physical contact and Black Zetsu may intervene. But there is a way to make sure he won't escape."

"All I have to do is restrain him though there's no need to do it since he's unconscious enough to do the sealing that will drain him his remaining chakra and life force and convert it into mine." finished Naruto.

Sakura was not sure about it, and so she asked the blonde. "Is it safe Naruto? I mean what if it'll turn you into someone like him?"

Naruto smiled widely. "Don't worry Sakura! Just trust me, you know!" exclaimed the blonde, puffing his chest and making the young lady small.

Tsunade, along with the other four Kages, the troops, and the four reanimated previous Hokages, sat on the ground, assisting the injured ones. She was relief as she could no longer sense the foul intensity of the war and was sure her comrades can feel it, too.

"Did they...kill him?" asked someone from the background.

"I don't know, but...it feels lighter." replied the other.

"Yeah! I'm sure they won the battle!" and soon the group cheered that made Tsunade, who was standing in front of them all, smiled though it soon ended as someone, a kunoichi, reprimanded them.

"Cut it off! We aren't sure if they succeed until they get here alive!"

Tsunade nodded.

"She's right." said Minato as he walked and stood by Tsunade's side that then turned around to face the man, the Fourth Hokage. "Though I can feel it, too." he smiled.

The Fourth and Fifth Hokage both stood, watching the horizon and the beautiful dawn. Then, from afar they saw four shadowed figures. Tsunade squinted her eyes and gasped, gaining the attention of everyone. The rookie nine, or what was left, and Sai joined the two Hokages, and they two gasped.

Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Sakura were approaching the troop with huge smiles plastered on their faces.

And the whole Shinobi Alliance cheered at the news upon seeing Uchiha Madara's withering body. Naruto then explained to them the seal known to Uzumaki clan as Sealing Technique; Art of Life Force, thus the result of him having those black intricate designs all over his body with the Uzumaki crest on his chest.

Minato was so proud of his son that he couldn't help but cry in joy. "I'm so proud of you son...Naruto. I'm sure if Kushina is here she would throw you a big hug. And... Naruto..." he paused as he looked at his son's own azure eyes; two pairs of sky blue eyes, which resembled the cloudless summer sky that hid the darkness to bring happiness to individual who looked up at it, locked at each other. "Happy Birthday." said the Fourth Hokage with a proud smile in which his son returned with his own foxy grin and pulled his father in a tight embrace.

Naruto whispered, "Thank you...dad. And, I love you. Both you and mom." before falling on his knees and succumbing into darkness.

Everyone froze after Naruto fell on the ground, unconscious, and the markings on his body were glowing blue. And, Sasuke, not knowing why felt light headed before following suit. The last he heard were the frantic muffled sounds of the people around him and Naruto.

oOo

Pain. Excruciating pain shot through his body as though he was squashed by two boulders the size of one of the heads carved on the side of the mountain known as the Hokage Monument. Apart from the numbing senses, he also felt like there were smouldering rods piercing through his nerves.

He felt like shit.

It might be a year or so already, he thought as he stayed still on his bed, willing his heavy eyelids to open. After so much failed attempts, he finally did it only to shut it close immediately when bright light burned his eyes.

He groaned.

He breathed in and out, trying to relax as much as he possibly could before forcing his eyes open again to meet a pair of sharp blue eyes, a mop of sunny blonde hair, and scar-free tanned face, staring at him.

The blonde one was a young man in his early to mid twenties, wearing Konoha's Elite ninja uniform. He was sitting on a wooden chair next to the window, reading a scroll, when he heard a groan coming from the raven haired teen on the bed next to the blonde one. He rolled the scroll on his hands close and put it on the table as he stood up and made his way to the raven haired teen. He stood there, bending a little forward as he expected for the teen to open his eyes. He watched as the teen struggled to see the world and knew it won't be long before it happened.

To the man's surprise, what he saw was something he himself could hardly believe. Those eyes, mismatching eyes were intriguing though the right one was a normal shade of black. What caught his interest was the left one.

_Rinnegan_.

There was only silence as the blonde and the raven haired one stared at each other with the former lost in thoughts while the latter was racking his brain for an answer as to why the blonde he knew as Konoha's Fourth Hokage was looking at him and did not look like an Edo Tensei summon.

"What..." the raven haired blinked in confusion.

Despite the surprising surprise upon seeing the legendary eye, the blonde smiled at the teen and straightened up. He said, "I see you're awake. That's good since the Hokage wanted to know how come you two broke in our village and I am tasked to ask you some with additional questions."

Ignoring his protesting and screaming muscles, the raven haired pushed his body up with a grunt and the man with him helped him up. "What do you mean 'you two'?" he asked whilst finding a comfortable position to sit.

"Well, I mean you and him." the man jerked his head to the teen's right who followed his gesture and saw his blonde comrade lying unconscious on his bed.

"Oh. Him..." he said as he looked back at the man.

"So, is it okay to ask you some question now? Or do you need more rest?"

"No, it's okay."

The blonde nodded and grabbed a nearby chair to sit on. "I'm Namikaze Minato, Elite of Hidden Leaf Village. What's your name?"

The teen did not answer immediately, which did not go unnoticed to Minato. From what he had gathered in his short observations, he first thought he was under an illusion, however, his left eye told him otherwise. So, he decided to play it safe first until he knew what was going on. "Indra."

"Indra?"

"Yes."

"No last name?"

Indra, who was truly Uchiha Sasuke, hesitated for a second before he nodded in confirmation.

Minato caught his hesitation, but did not push it any further and went onto the next question.

"Hm. Where were you from?"

"If you're talking about my home village, I couldn't tell because I do not know. I've been travelling with my old man as far as I can remember. As for my comrade, I met him in the woods near the border of Fire Country a few days after my old man passed away when I was eight."

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't be. It was in the past."

Minato smiled. "Can you tell me where you were before breaking in here? From the looks of it you were engaged in a battle. What happened?"

"I'm not sure..." he looked at his comrade. "We were just passing by when a group appeared out of nowhere and attacked us." Sasuke was not sure whether Minato was buying his lie or not, but he still went on. He guessed if he was in the past then he could be in around the time of Third Shinobi War, so better make his story vague but plausible. "I'm not sure what happened, really, but they did something to Ashura, my comrade, and I lost it. I don't know what happened next."

Minato nodded. "You probably hit your head or something. Now, as for the additional question... Can you explain why you have the Rinnegan in your left eye?"

"Rinnegan?" Sasuke raised a brow, feigning ignorance and confusion. "What is that?"

"You don't know?" asked an incredulous looking Minato.

"No. I don't know what you're talking about. Care to elaborate?"

"Ah! Never mind about it. It's something you needn't to worry about."

"Is that so?" Sasuke asked, earning a small nod from Minato.

"It's good to spend time with you, Indra-kun. If you don't mind, I have to go now, but before that... Do you have any questions?"

"Yes. How long have I been out?"

"More or less three hours probably as my team found you unconscious already."

Sasuke did not say anything and Minato told him to rest before walking out.

Sasuke then looked at his blonde comrade whom he introduced to Minato as Ashura though in truth he was Uzumaki Naruto.

oOo

It all started roughly four hours ago. Minato was in a ramen shop, about to take a bite when two small hands shot up, grabbed him by his arms, and pulled him away from his lunch. He did not know what was happening and when he asked the two boys, one had a spiky black hair and orange goggles over his eyes and the other one had a gravity defying silver hair and mask covering the lower part of his face, all they told him was there was a flash of bright light in the training ground 44 or the Forest of Death and they wanted their mentor to come with them and check it out.

It took them a while before they found two battered bodies that were now in the hospital.

Minato had just come in the Hokage's office to report about their visitors.

"Want did you find out?" asked the Third Hokage, who was sitting behind his desk; his pipe forgotten.

"Their names... Indra and Ashura."

The Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, raised a brow questioningly. "Indra and Ashura?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

"Aren't those the names of..." Hiruzen trailed off. It might be a coincidence, but he never thought someone had those names; much less those two were acquainted with each other.

"Yes, Lord Hokage. Indra was the only one who woke up, so I asked him. He said he and this Ashura are travellers and no village affiliation so far. On their way they were attacked by a group of people, probably thieves or missing nins, and... He seemed to not remember what had happened."

"Do you believe him?"

Minato did not answer as he thought back to their conversation in the hospital. He could not feel any false in Indra's tone and body language; however, there was something he was not telling. Minato had a hunch that Indra was not telling the truth, but could not prove it.

"Well?" Hiruzen prompted.

"...Well... I can't say I do believe him, but I can't sense him lying, too."

"A good actor, then."

Minato nodded in agreement. "Lord Hokage. There's something about this Indra that reeks...trouble."

"Please, do tell me."

"Yes, Lord Hokage. Indra had Rinnegan in his left eye."

Hiruzen was astounded.

oOo

In one of the spare training grounds were three fourteen-year old children, two boys and a girl.

The masked silver haired boy perched on a tree branch, waiting for someone while the black haired one sprawled on the ground with the brown haired girl treating his scrapes and other minor scratches.

The black haired boy sat, thanking the girl. "Hey, Rin. Let's go see those guys!"

"I want to see them, too, Obito but our mentor forbade us until he said so." the girl, Rin, replied as she stood and dusted herself.

Obito whined. "C'mon Rin. What's wrong 'bout that? We're just going to visit and see how they are."

"Idiot." the masked boy commented and hopped off the branch, approaching his teammates.

Obito had been ridiculed by the other boy because of his clumsiness. Calling him 'idiot' was only a scratch, however, he won't let it slide. Glaring at the masked boy, Obito snarled. "What did you say?"

The boy sighed dejectedly, aggravating Obito. "Idiot. You're an idiot. Sensei told us not to visit them unless he said so."

Obito scowled, muttering about how the silver haired boy was obsessed of ninja rules and whatnot. "Admit it, Kakashi. You want to see them, too."

"Maybe." Kakashi shrugged. "But, they're irrelevant."

Fuming at Kakashi's attitude towards other people, Obito was ready to retort or strangle him had Minato not appeared via Hiraishin, surprising Obito, and interrupted them.

Like what he used to do, Minato sighed at his subordinates' antics before greeting them and asked what was up.

It was Rin, the rational one, who filled their mentor of what had happened in the duration he was not around.

"C'mon...sense~i... I wanna see them~..." Obito whined as he shook his mentor.

Said mentor only smiled sheepishly. "Stop it, Obito. You're making me busy."

"Nuh-uh. I won't until you say 'yes'." he said firmly.

"I'm sorry, but maybe next time."

"But, next time is too long!~..."

"How do you know it's too long?" asked Kakashi and Obito snapped his head to the former with a scowl plastered on his face. He said, "Because you never knew when the next time is." then he turned back into shaking his mentor and whined.

Minato sighed tiredly, begging to any deities listening to him to make Obito stop.

At last, nobody seemed to hear or listened to him.

"Alright, alright."

"Yes!"

oOo

Sasuke, who had been holding Naruto's right hand with his left, frowned as he settled the blonde's down and went to sit on his bed.

He sighed inaudibly.

Apparently, he had talked with the tailed beasts via Naruto's link with them and found out some disturbing news. One, they travelled back in time. They had just won the war and now they came back to face another war. How troublesome, he thought. Two, Naruto won't wake up unless Sasuke supplied him enough chakra to make him to since the tailed beasts merged with their past selves, which only means they left Naruto's body, leaving enough traces of their chakra to keep the blonde teen alive and breathing. And three, they did not know what really happened, so there was no way to tell how to return to their timeline.

How very inconvenient, Sasuke sighed once again and this time, it was loud enough to hear that he was frustrated.

_It's best to give Naruto at least half of my chakra to keep him conscious for a whole month and tell him our situation._

Sasuke stood and was about to touch Naruto when he felt someone approaching. He decided to do it later when no one was around and sat back on his bed, closing his left eye and waiting for a knock.

And it came.

"Come in."

The door opened, revealing the man from before and three new faces.

"Hello. How have you been?"

"Good."

Minato nodded his head in contentment and introduced his subordinates. "This is Hatake Kakashi, Nohara Rin, and Uchiha Obito." he gestured at each one of them as they nodded back in greeting.

Sasuke was not surprised to meet Kakashi again even though he was younger this time. He already expected it though not soon. When he heard of the other boy's name; Uchiha Obito, he hid his amusement. He knew Kakashi and Obito were teammates, but to see the latter grinning at him... He could not help but noticed the big difference between the younger Obito and the older Obito and how he resembled Naruto.

"I'm Indra." said Sasuke.

Minato averted his gaze to Naruto and noted how deep his sleep was. "He's still not awake?" he pointed at the blonde and the other occupants of the room turned their heads to Naruto's sleeping form.

"Yes." was Sasuke's bland answer, making Minato frown a little.

Being the medic nin she was, Rin walked over to Naruto with Obito, who was curious, following behind.

Rin, concern painted her face, examined Naruto; her hands glowing green. "He seems to be alright. All acquired previous injuries are healed and no other problems. Though his chakra is...a little off or something. I'm not sure whatever this is, but I think it's the reason why he's still unsconscious." she frowned and turned to her mentor. "What do we do, sensei?"

"We can call the doctor. I hope Princess Tsunade was here." Minato whispered the last sentence to himself.

Obito volunteered to call the doctor, but before he could reach the doorknob, Sasuke said, "There's no need to."

The visitors looked at the raven haired teen incredulously.

"What're you talkin'bout? Doncha care for him?" asked Obito only to receive silence from the one in question. "Fine. Be that way, but I care and so is sensei, so I'll call the doctor-"

"I said 'there's no need to'." Sasuke repeated firmly.

Minato narrowed his eyes, suspicion was growing inside.

Kakashi, who was silently watching the scene unfolds, got curious, and so he asked. "Why?"

"He won't wake up no matter what unless I supplied him half of my chakra monthly." Sasuke explained.

"Has the attack had something to do with Ashura's current state?" asked Minato.

"I think yes." Sasuke lied.

Stepping closer, Rin asked Sasuke to do it, but the latter said he was still weak and needed to recuperate.

"Then, I'll do it!" Obito declared as he marched towards Naruto, but was stopped abruptly when Sasuke said it would poison Naruto if he did not know how to match the blonde's chakra signature.

"Just give me time. Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to do it." he informed them.

Satisfied at the answer, Minato deemed it enough and ushered his subordinates to let Sasuke rest.

The door clicked close and Sasuke resumed what he was about to do before when he could feel his visitors no more.

Hovering over Naruto's still form, Sasuke mumbled, "Time to wake up, Naruto."

oOo

They were walking down the street, passing by the shops in the midst of the growing crowd when Obito stopped abruptly as he realized something. His teammates noticed this and halted their pace to turn slightly and look at him questioningly.

"Something wrong, Obito-kun?" asked Minato.

"I forgot something."

"What is it?"

"Well, I forgot to ask Indra why his left eye is closed."

"Maybe he just doesn't want to open It." said Kakashi, not caring at all as he found it uninteresting. However, Minato thought otherwise as he saw what was behind it first hand and was silently thankful to Indra for not letting the three see it. He did not want complicated things to be exposed yet.

Kakashi's input made Obito scowl. "I'm not talking to you, fool!"

"Who said I was talking to you?" Kakashi retorted and Obito snapped.

"That's IT! YOU'RE DEAD!"

Minato had to hold back a struggling and flailing Obito before he got himself in a pinch for trying to beat Kakashi. He just hoped Kakashi would stop provoking the other.

"LEMME GO, SENSEI! I'M GOING TO CASTRATE HIM AND CHOKE HIM WITH HIS OWN INTESTINES!"

"Calm down, Obito. Don't make a scene."

"But he started it!" whining, Obito pointed accusingly at Kakashi. And, Rin could only send an apollogetic look at their mentor as Obito kept on thrashing against his hold.

"You can't beat me, cry baby." said Kakashi and left.

Obito stopped his thrashing only to shake in rage for being insulted, stepped on, and ignored. "How dare he..." he growled, grinding his teeth and glaring daggers at Kakashi's retreating back.

oOo

Staring at the stark white ceiling was Naruto as he lied on his bed; he had been filled in by Sasuke about their little predicament and it felt like Sakura had landed a punch square on his face with her chakra-infused fist. The war they were in just ended with them in the upper hand only to be dragged back in time where the real enemy who was cultivating the will-be Great Fourth Shinobi War was alive and kicking.

Naruto wanted to scream, but could not as he was not out of his mind to do it in the hospital.

"What do we do now? We're in the past; we can change it to avoid _it_." Naruto asked Sasuke, who was tying his doctor's eyepatch he requested from the nurse.

"We can't. Doing it will alter everything no matter how small it would be. And, there's a possibility in there that people we knew might not be born this time around. I suggest to lay low until we figured out how we are here."

"Nah." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Just being here did change a lot. So, why not make the most out of it?"

"Point taken, but think about it. You must understand that some things are better left the way how it supposed to be."

"I understand, but you can't expect me to sit idly while watching people in a dire situation die. If I know I can be of any help then I'll do it. And, don't lie to me, Sasuke." he turned to look at Sasuke, who returned his hard gaze with a confused one, and Naruto continued. "I know what you are feeling. You said it before... _Your goal_ in life. And, now you knew the truth..." he trailed off as he let his brother figure to sink it in.

Taken aback, Sasuke averted his gaze to his lap. Naruto was right, he realized. He had a chance to fulfil his goal and give his brother, Itachi, the life he had given up in order to stop the civil war and protect his younger brother.

Sasuke liked it. He loved it; the idea of being able to alter the past for a better future.

But, he was torn in between. Should he let things flow as it was or risk everything to change the horrible future that may come?

"Sasuke." Naruto broke Sasuke out of his trance as the latter looked at him again. "Remember that our main objective here is cut the _curse_ that manifested in every single soul; the cycle of hatred. It isn't easy, I know, but think it this way. If we somehow stop whatever conflict is going on this time, we can diminish the bloodshed and save more lives. Let's form an alliance with village by village slowly, so that we can stop the war and gradually bring out the peace everyone is longing for the next generation. It will be a very hard and long road, but will work on it..._together_ this time. Just imagine, without conflicts, _he_ can't manipulate ones heart like what he did to Obito. You can already picture out the future if _he _has no one to continue and carry out his plan."

Sasuke was silent. He could not tell where the idiot Naruto had gone to, but could only think that life lessons did a number on the blonde. "Just bear in mind we could not save everyone and the risk of someone we did not know not be born and other more circumstances that you could think of."

Naruto smiled. "So, you agree with me?"

"Yeah, but let's keep a low profile and observe first. We are in the past and things here had already happened, so if there's a way to return to our own time we're going back."

"Sure!"


	2. Chapter 2

**II**

* * *

It was another day and Sasuke did not know what to do as his blonde companion have kept him occupied throughout the remaining day yesterday.

So far, they had sorted out the things necessary to change. Just the thought of it however made Sasuke to double take. Should he go along with Naruto's idea, he thought. If he did, then they could save lives, but it was a double edged sword as they had no way of knowing whether their enemy would change his course. There were uncertainties. If he did not, then things will repeat for them and the privilege of knowing the future and chance to change it was something he could not look over. If the opportunity shows itself, why not grab it?

But then again, travelling back in time was not easy as it ought to be.

Then, Naruto's words last night made itself known.

"_It doesn't matter, y'know! I'm not trying to convince you, but you're afraid to at least walk out of this room, fearing that you might change so big you'd think it's the end of the world. I thought we came to terms already? C'mon! Where's this intelligent jerk I've known? Think again, Sasuke…if we aren't supposed to change even the smallest thing here, then why are we here in the first place? What're our purposes of being dragged back-? And not just simply dragged back in time. You see, we aren't even born yet. Not until a few years. And in order to execute our plan we need help. We have to tell someone; the Hokage."_

"So…" Naruto, sitting cross legged on his bed, drawled out as he waited for Sasuke's answer, who was standing by the window and gazing outside. Last night's talk and little insults here and there made the raven haired teen think over and over until he fell asleep without answering Naruto's question.

There was a sigh coming from the Uchiha. He then said, "Count me in. But…" he looked over his shoulder to face Naruto. "Do we really have to tell them?"

"Of course! I know old man won't let us down, y'know! Just believe it!"

oOo

Hiruzen piled the last stock of paper aside that evening. He picked up his pipe and lit before sucking on it and blowing a puff of smoke. He leaned back to relax when a small smile ghosted his aging face as he felt someone approaching from behind. And like what he expected, the glass window slid open.

"Hello, sensei." Someone greeted and Hiruzen did not have to guess or look around to know who came.

Perching on the window sill was a man in his forties. His long spiky white hair tied in a low ponytail.

"Jiraiya." said Hiruzen. "I was expecting you to be back this week, but not this soon."

The newcomer, Jiraiya, hopped down and leaned on the wall. "Well, I'm supposed to be 'researching', but Minato found me on my way and told me something interesting. And, I guess you know already what I am talking about."

"Yes. I know. There is this kid who has the legendary Rinnegan on his left eye. I'm waiting for your return, so that I could ask you if what abilities this eye has."

"Apart from what was written, I know nothing. Remember the Ame orphans I told you about?" Hiruzen nodded. "Well, Nagato had activated his Rinnegan when his parents were attack. At first he got frightened and because of that I think it resulted in memory lapse; him not remembering what he did and how he did the deed."

"Hm. Then that explains why this fellow couldn't remember what happened before he lost consciousness. Minato said that they were attacked on their way while travelling. Something must have triggered him to activate his Rinnegan. Though I wonder why it's only his left eye."

"Are they civilians?"

"Maybe, but I doubt it. They don't have forehead protectors to identify their home village. So maybe they are civilians, but they could also be missing nins. ...They are in the hospital right now."

"I see. I was told by Obito that they found them at the Forest of Death. Is that true?"

"Yes. The Barrier Team failed to notice their arrival so I wonder how they broke in. Maybe it has something to do with the Rinnegan the boy possesses."

Jiraiya hummed, stroking his chin whilst staring at the ceiling. "I want to meet this brat."

Hiruzen snorted as he put his now emptied pipe down. "The boy who had Rinnegan may be interesting, but you won't believe what I'm going to say." said the Hokage, peering at Jiraiya, who stared back at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he raised a brow.

"Their names… The one who has Rinnegan is Indra while his companion is Ashura." Hiruzen smirked.

"That's ridiculous." Jiraiya shook his head.

"I know right."

"Do you believe it?"

"No. The coincidences were too obvious that's why once this kid, Ashura, woke I will interrogate them by myself."

"Count me in, sensei." Jiraiya grinned lopsidedly.

oOo

Still wearing the hospital issued shirt and pants, Sasuke and Naruto found their selves in a small interrogation room. They sat side by side on their respective chairs and across from them was the Hokage with only the table separating them.

Had Sasuke not warned Naruto of dead people being alive the latter would be bug eyed and cry right then.

Though Naruto was still surprised of seeing his old man, he managed to hide it perfectly and he thanked his career as ninja that hardened him.

Hiruzen sat on his seat. "Indra, Ashura."

The two nodded simultaneously.

"You may be wondering why I called you here.-"

"We're actually looking forward for this, Third." Sasuke interrupted and Hiruzen twitched an eye at the lack of respect shown to him.

"What do you mean?" Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.

Leaning on the table and lacing his fingers together, Sasuke said, "We need the Kyuubi and we're going to get it no matter what-" in a bland way until Naruto cut him off by smacking him on his head.

Hiruzen watched the two warily as Sasuke demanded an explanation of Naruto's action.

Naruto scoffed, folding his arms against his chest, and said, "That's for being bland and straightforward."

"Like you know subtlety and modesty." Sasuke furrowed his brows as he looked at his companion.

"At least I'm not one for bringing false alarm ya idiot! We could've accidentally create war because of this, y'know!" Naruto shot back, albeit berating.

Not wanting the bickering between the two, Hiruzen coughed on his fist to gain their attention, which effectively stopped the two and settled down. "Tell me." he said. "Your names aren't really Indra and Ashura, are they?"

Sasuke dropped his hands on his lap as he leaned back, glancing at Naruto before fixing his gaze at the Hokage. "No, they are not our real names, however, we are still Indra and Ashura." he replied in a monotone.

"You're making no sense."

Sasuke did not say anything and Naruto surprisingly remained silent.

Hiruzen though took the moment to speak his mind. "Aren't you two bold? Breaking in our village and telling me you want the nine-tailed beast?" He snorted amusingly, and then glared. "Do not underestimate us, brats. You don't know what kind of situation you have put yourselves into." he warned.

It seemed Sasuke was unfazed by the Hokage's small murderous intent, but Naruto was getting nervous.

He faced and defeated enemies stronger than him before, but when it came to people he respected it was different. It was just one of his quirks.

Laughing his nervousness away, Naruto scratched the back of his head and said, "It's not like that, old man." making Hiruzen twitched annoyingly.

"I'm not that old, kid."

"Yeah. But you're going that way anyway." Naruto shrugged, failing to notice the Hokage's irritation.

"I don't have time to sit and chat idly, so let's get to the point." Hiruzen paused and leaned forward as he propped his elbows on the table and intertwined his fingers. "You said it yourself." he eyed Sasuke, scrutinizing him. "You're names aren't Indra and Ashura, yet you are. What do you mean by that? What're your real names? And, don't you dare lie to me; I can simply call a Yamanaka to prod your minds."

Naruto sighed audibly, thinking how Sasuke had ruined their chance of gaining the trust of the Hokage first before going through their plan. However, Sasuke deemed it necessary to not dance around and be straightforward as they could not waste their time. After all, he trusted the old man not to take any drastic measures until he got proofs of them being Konoha's enemies. He's the 'Professor' after all,Sasuke mused.

By this time, Naruto had relaxed and folded his arms behind his head as he squinted his eyes. "Yeah. We mean it literally. Our real names aren't Indra and Ashura, but..." Naruto opened his eyes, staring at his old man evenly. "We _are _them."

Hiruzen caught what he thought as the hidden message. Thinking over it made the two in front of him sound ridiculous, or mentally unhinged. But, just to confirm he asked, "Are you saying you are _their_ reincarnations?"

"Bingo." Naruto sang and Sasuke took the liberty to elaborate it more upon sensing the incredulity and disbelief around the Hokage.

"We are the reincarnations of Indra and Ashura. But not until we're thirteen or sixteen. We're not quite even sure, but we felt something that compelled us recently. What I mean is that, Indra and Ashura's chakra migrated to us."

_So, my hunch is right._ Thought Hiruzen, however, he could not just wrap his mind on that idea. It was not impossible; migrating chakra since he was taught of it before though he did not if it was possible for them. "What're your names, then?" he asked. "Your real names, I mean."

"Sorry, old man. But, it won't do us any good if we tell you." said Naruto, quickly supplying that they were not enemies and can be trusted when he noticed the look Hiruzen gave.

"How can you convince me if you are not going to tell me? Besides, what are you really scheming? What do you need the Kyuubi for?" the Hokage inquired as he once again leaked out a little of his murderous intent that dissipated in the midst of conversation awhile back.

Naruto cringed visibly and Sasuke had to mask his amusement before Naruto would berate him in an annoying way that he hated the most.

Being loud, obnoxious, and all.

Naruto tried to placate the Hokage, chancing a glare at Sasuke's way for not helping in their situation. "Ah- w-we don't know ho-how to prove to you t-that we are not en-enemies, but _please_...believe me when I say it. And...we-we are not scheming o-or something, but rather we are _planning_." he finished with a nervous smile.

"And the Kyuubi?" Hiruzen prompted.

"We need it. Gravely need it." Sasuke answered. "I can't continually supply Ashura of my own chakra monthly as it is very tasking and risky. Tasking, because I have to give him at least half of my chakra to keep him going and risky, because we are complete opposites yet we balance each other seeing that I am Yin and he is Yang. Since the Yang is currently empty I, the Yin, have to give half of it to the Yang to keep the scale equal, however if this will continue for so long it will put the balance off. In our case, we need each other to cover our flaws. Without the one, the other could not continue. It's like eraser and pencil. Without the pencil the eraser can do nothing; without the eraser the pencil could not rewrite a word correctly." he explained.

"I understand, but it still doesn't answer my question."

"Indra gave me half of his chakra." Naruto spoke grimly. "Without it I would still be unconscious, and if he did not do what he did I won't last another month."

"Why?"

Both Naruto and Sasuke shared a look before the former turned to the Hokage, looking dead serious.

"I'm a Jinchuuriki." said Naruto, earning a bewildered Hokage. "My tenant was forcibly extracted from me, leaving only traces of chakra that will ensure my survival for a month or so until Indra supplied me the chakra I needed." Naruto carefully not to mention anything like the word 'they', which referred to all the tailed beasts, that would give him a way.

Hiruzen was mortified, but hid it perfectly. He was not anticipating that kind of answer; much less the fact that someone had extracted the tailed beasts from the blonde teen. Who could've done something like, he did not know. Then again, who was Ashura holding? He knew where the other tailed beasts were unless someone had transferred the tailed beast to Ashura to be its new Jinchuuriki from the former Jinchuuriki.

He wanted to know which tailed beast Ashura was hosting.

"Tell me, Ashura." Said Hiruzen, eyes fixed on Naruto's. "Which bijuu was sealed in you?"

Naruto did not answer right away and Sasuke could tell what the former was thinking. If Naruto said he had all the tailed beasts, then Hiruzen would question their sanity. Sealing one-tailed beast is already a problem, how much more if all of them were sealed in one host? They must find a way of telling the truth without raising any more suspicion.

Hiruzen was observing the two in front of him. If Ashura was really a jinchuuriki then is it that difficult to tell which one was sealed in him? He thought, noting the tensed shoulders of the blonde teen.

"Well…?"

Naruto sighed. _Whatever. I'll just have to get over with this. _"Old man." He looked at the Hokage defiantly, directly in his eyes. "I'm the jinchuuriki of all nine bijuu."

There was only silence for half a minute before a howling laughter from behind Indra and Ashura broke it and the Hokage followed.

Looking back, Naruto and Sasuke saw Jiraiya on the wall when he peeled off his the cloth that concealed him.

"That's absurb! Complete absurb! Are you nuts?" asked the still laughing Jiraiya, but the two in question remained silent, not surprised at all when he appeared. Some minute later, the laughter died down and Jiraiya noticed the two stared at him like nothing was out of ordinary. "You don't look surprise when you see me."

Sasuke snorted. "We knew you're here."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Sasuke replied and turned to face the Hokage.

Naruto, who was still staring at Jiraiya, grinned. He was so happy to see the man again; he wanted to jump on the man and tackled him, tell him the things he missed when he died, tell him he had achieved his dream; surpassing all the Hokages and defeating Madara, and many other things with significance and none. Everything and nothing, he wanted to tell him.

He wanted to tell the man who taught him his father's own technique; the Rasengan.

But, of course, like with the old man he must restrain his self until they revealed the truth of him and Sasuke being time travellers who came from the future and believe them.

However restrain Naruto had, he could not stop himself saying, "Hello… Pervy Sage."

And Jiraiya smacked him upside down. "Don't call me that!"

Nursing the lump, Naruto apologized, but told him to get used to it.

When everything settled down, Hiruzen asked if Jiraiya knew Ashura.

"No, sensei. I don't remember seeing him before."

"Oh, yes. Old man, I knew him. We knew each other, in fact, but we won't meet yet. Not now, but in the future." Naruto grinned.

"Future?" Hiruzen and Jiraiya asked Naruto incredulously.

This time, Sasuke was the one who answered as he was getting impatient of having the interrogation dragging on so long. "We're from the future and we can prove it to you." he then, activated his Sharingan as he tore off his eye patch, revealing his Rinnegan while Naruto was in Sage mode, and they both smirked upon seeing Hiruzen and Jiraiya gaped like a fish out of water and like a deer on head lights.

oOo

Obito dropped on his back, panting and feeling exhausted as the stinging pain crept through his body from the bruises and scratched he aquired. He was beaten by Kakashi on a spar apparently and was mentally seething at the smug look on Kakashi's eyes. He did not like it.

Minato congratulated Kakashi as the latter helped Obito back on his feet and Rin quickly rushed to them and started to heal their injuries.

"You also did a good job, Obito-kun. You've improved your taijutsu and you're getting fast, too."

Sitting on the ground were Minato's student. He watched them as Kakashi tested his sore wrist and Rin tended Obito's wounds in his arm. He heard the Uchiha grumbling under his breath something he knew was about Kakashi, and could not help but put up a smile despite his frown.

Then Obito spoke. "Hey, sensei." he looked up at Minato. "Do you have a younger sibling?"

The blonde man blinked. Now that Obito said that he remembered how he and Ashura looked similar. It was uncanny.

"Uhm. No." replied the Elite.

"Then perhaps a cousin?"

"...I don't know."

The glowing green light surrounding Rin's hand died down. She said, "All done! Don't forget to apply ointment, okay?" as she stood up, earning an enthusiastic nod from Obito, who followed her example.

Just then, an ANBU wearing porcelain mask of eagle appeared. "Namikaze-san." he said. "The Hokage summoned you."

Minato gave the ANBU a minute nod and told his Cadet team to rest for the day.

"Wait! Aren't we going to visit them and see if Ashura's awake?" asked Obito.

"I'm sorry, Obito-kun. But maybe later this day." Minato smiled apologetically before turning to the ANBU and they flickered out, leaving a disappointed Uchiha.

Kakashi eyed the spot their mentor had left and walked away from his team mates. "The Hokage must have a mission for us, Obito, so we can't go and see those two." he said with his back on the other two, making Obito scowled and Rin sighed.

oOo


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: Sorry it's a chapter. This is actually a difficult one to write; I had to rewrite multiple times and think over again that's why it took me so long, but I hope you guys will enjoy this and please leave me a review though... I doubt that because even I am thinking there's nothing worth to review here 'cause this is a sort of filler for the next chapter.**

**Geez, I really don't like it when I won't meet my 'at least 3,000 words per chapter'. I blame my OCD.**

**Anyway, just enjoy reading!**

* * *

**III**

* * *

'Impossible' was the word echoing in the minds of the Hokage and the Toad Sage as they watched the two young men in supreme astonishment. It was not like you see an average looking teen that both had the Uchiha Clan's most prized weapon; the Sharingan, and the legendary Rinnegan in daily basis. And another teen, an idiot one at that, had completed the Sage mode.

Hiruzen seized them up. The one who had the Doujutsus can easily be labelled as an Uchiha with his distinct raven hair and onyx eye, and the Sharingan, but why the Rinnegan? If the legendary eye was implanted, then he could understand because it will explain why the raven haired teen only had it on his left eye. But, the teen in question was said to be unaware of it, which would be explain by him activating it during the attack just like what had happened to Jiraiya's former student. It did not make sense however if it only activated on one eye and the other remained as Sharingan.

Other than Minato and him, Jiraiya, he knew no one who knew the Sage mode, much less how to do it and in complete stage. He had been thinking of anyone who could do it before him and last time he check the summoning scroll, he was the only one alive he could do the Sage mode while Minato was still in training. So, it only means that the teens were really from the future.

Naruto and Sasuke deemed it enough for a show and decided to retreat back to their previous appearances.; the former, who was quite surprisingly the more perceptive of them two if he wanted to, did not fail to notice the curiosity building up in the stomachs of the Hokage and the Sannin. He could clearly see the questions swimming in their minds, so with a smile he said, "Let's wait for Minato and we'll tell you things you should know and answers your questions as we see fit."

The two nodded in agreement and Jiraiya leaned on the wall.

It did not take them more than twenty minutes to wait before Minato arrived and he was quickly filled in of what was unravelled so far. At first, he could hardly believe it until Jiraiya explained to him that Ashura was a toad Sage from the future.

Naruto, the talkative one, took the liberty of reintroducing himself. "I'm Ashura. But that's not really my name; just a codename only, so as not to accidentally steal the name of my version here. However, I am still Ashura, I mean the real one in a way. And the same goes with Sa-" he winced when Sasuke stomped his heel on his toe. "-Indra. I just turned seventeen and..." he trailed off as he glanced at Sasuke, who read what he was thinking and nodded for him to continue. He stared down on his lap briefly before looking up at Minato. "I'm your son."

The man blinked at the young blonde, surprised at the bland statement. "You're my what?"

"I'm your son." Naruto repeated. "Will _be_ your son. If our resemblance is not enough we can always have a blood test."

Minato just smiled and said, "There's no need to. Even Obito thought we're relatives."

Chuckling, Jiraiya wrapped an arm around Minato's shoulders. "Congratulations! So you and Kushina will get married one of these days!"

"Uhm..." Minato rubbed his head meekly. "We can't be sure about that. I haven't..."

"Oh c'mon!" Jiraiya glanced at Naruto. "Hey, tell me who's your mother, kid." he asked.

"Sorry...not telling until they got together, but I can inform mom about myself."

"What? C'mon, kid. Maybe we can...you know..." a perverted smile appeared on the Sannin's face as he wiggled his white eyebrows while Naruto just rolled his eyes, muttering something about the man being a pervert.

Hiruzen coughed on his fist to gain their attention, and then turned to Sasuke. "What about you, Indra?"

"I'm an Uchiha. Son of Fugaku and Mikoto." at his answer, Minato's eyes widened in surprised and said that his parents will be proud of him when they learned what their son became, but for Sasuke it was different. He felt shame for letting his feelings of hate and rage blinded him. He had hated his brother whom he had respected so much and looked up to, but he was only an innocent child back then when it happened. And, he swore that it will be different this time.

"So, what happened? Why are you here?" asked Hiruzen.

Naruto leaned back and put his legs on the table much to Sasuke's dismay for his lack of decency when it came to the Hokage, which never changed since they were only Cadets, and to Minato's surprised. He was proud of what his son had achieved so far, but... _I'm going to work on my son's attitude when he's born._ He mused to himself.

Folding his arms behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling, Naruto thought back at the recent activities. "We aren't even sure..." he said. "We just won the Great Fourth Shinobi War when we just collapsed and woke up in the hospital."

"There was a war after the third?"

"Yes. It's a very long story, so I'll just get to the point." he paused; his voice was firm. He then took his feet off the table, put his hands on his lap, and looked at the Hokage with hardened gaze. "A masked man appeared during the meeting of the five Kages. He asked for the jinchuuriki of hachibi and kyuubi to be handed or there will be war. Of course the Kages refused and the war ensued. By that time the Great Five Nation united. An alliance was form. They were fighting the enemies in front lines while I was hidden. The Fifth Hokage gave me an S-rank mission, which turned out to be a fake mission in order to protect. In that mission I was training under the hachibi's jinchuuriki to gain control of my tenant's power and I succeeded and that was when I sense the ongoing war that they kept from me. Being me, I forced my way to join the war and help. We were in the upper hand at first until Madara was revived and everything went rolling downhill when the juubi was also revived. It was hell for the lack of a better word, but we won in the end despite our great lost. What was important was that we saved the humanity from falling in a senseless world of perfection."

"Before that," said Sasuke. "Madara had been planning it all along. He was not alone in this. He had help from someone outside who played the biggest role in the entire history of the Shinobi World."

"Who is he?" asked Hiruzen, frowning at the prospect of Madara being alive and the additional of someone.

"Zetsu. He altered what was written on the tablet, which is in the care of Uchiha Clan." replied Sasuke. And, with that said, the Hokage's frown deepened as well as the other two men as the atmosphere shifted. The Hokage then asked some valuable information regarding the future that had yet to happen, but was bound to and was already in set, waiting for the director to give its go signal.

The two young men began their tale as they were asked to, filling the listeners of the high lightened major events in their lives while not mentioning the names of the possible threats, but gave them hints so as not to alter much that they would hardly predict what was supposed to happen in the next minute.

Because no one should know anything about tomorrow and whatever decisions one had made, people around him are affected.

"Remember. If you have an idea now of who is the next person to commit crime, don't do anything to arrest him until he showed his true colors or you have the proof. You can lure him though." Naruto reminded them nonchalantly as he leaned back.

Hiruzen nodded in understanding and told them they are free to roam the village under the names they were currently using. He also decided to place them in ANBU when their uniforms are produced, but until then they can take residence in the apartment for Elites who had no families.

However, Minato asked if Ashura could live with him in which, before the Hokage could say anything else, the latter already jumped on his feet and agreed enthusiastically though he had one condition and that Sasuke must go with them.

Sasuke wanted to voice out his disapproval, but bit his lip back as he thought of how crucial Naruto's condition should they be separated.

Apparently, the Uchiha forgot to mention that he and Naruto should not be apart for most of the time, or more like Naruto made him forgot as the blonde kept on distracting him with his ranting that Sasuke slipped.

"By the way." Sasuke cut off the beaming Naruto, who was teasing the Sannin of his works. When all heads turned to him, he said, "Naruto, I forgot to mention that we shouldn't be separated."

"Why?" Naruto cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't know. Something about 'who knows what will happen if the Yin and Yang are separated in a long time now that the latter is consuming on the former's chakra to keep alive' said the bijuus. Let's not take any risk."

"Okay." Naruto shrugged.

oOo

Sneaking in a private hospital room was easy said than done, so when Obito reached the room of Indra and Ashura he was frustrated upon seeing it was void of anyone.

_Where are they?_ Obito asked no one as he ventured in, looking around. He closed the door from behind and crept slowly towards the window and slid it open before he hopped on the window sill and leaped out.

Obito walked around the town, searching for Ahsura and Indra when he happened to pass by the gate and saw a woman in complete Elite ninja uniform with long vibrant hair flowing freely behind, talking to the guards. He then brightened up and raced toward the woman.

"Hey, Kushina-san!" called Obito, waving.

The woman, now dubbed as Kushina, turned to her right and saw the boy approaching her. She smiled, acknowledging the boy. "Hello, Obito. Are you up for ramen?" she inquired.

"Oh, yes! Your treat, right?"

"Right. Let's go before we run out of ramen, you know!" exclaimed the red haired woman, dragging the boy with her and leaving her comrades to deal with the Hokage.


End file.
